10 Glade, Year 110
[Closed]
[Part II]
“Yes, Hilana?” Namah asked her. “What is it?” It was still early; so why on earth their baby sister was here...
“Can I see Mama’s veil, please?” she asked quietly. The girls looked at each other, and Athalia sighed. Marah was quiet, and Namah looked hesitant.
“You can’t touch it,” she told her, but finally motioned her over. The girl stepped over to the table where the box was, and peered at it as Namah lifted it out for the girl to get a better look, carefully draping it over her own hair and shoulders, demurely posing with it with the shimmering edges for her sister’s benefit, showing the girl what was expected of her to emulate. The veil itself was woven from thin, grey threads, while outlined in a brighter blue with woven coppery strands. Little shimmering stones studded the lace, each of them reflecting the many lights of her eldest sister’s bedroom. “Ah, no,” she moved the veil out of the way when one of Hilana’s hands came up to touch the edge. “I said please don’t touch it, Hilana.”
The wide-eyed look of delight that had brightened the child’s features vanished as if someone had turned off the light. “Why not? You get to. Marah gets to. Athalia gets to. I’m Mama’s daughter, too,” the girl pointed out, frowning. “I’m not going to break it, Namah.”
“Because you’ve been everywhere on a camel and you still smell like one,” Athalia told her dryly. “Namah does not want to smell like a camel for Caius. I think you should leave now, Hilana. You can see it more at the party.”
“I don’t smell like a camel,” the girl retorted. “I had a bath! And Sakima is clean! She smells like flowers!”
“Your bath didn’t work. Go have another one,” Athalia gave her a little push on the shoulder, and Hilana planted herself, eyes blazing. “I said, leave, Hilana. Why do you have to make such a mess of things?”
“Hilana, I think it’s best that you go out and wait for us with everyone else.” Namah told her, holding a hand up to Athalia to quiet her down before she said something to ignite the unpredictably wild child. Hilana turned to go, heading back for the door. It was Namah’s room, after all, and Hilana had gotten to see it, even if she hadn’t gotten to touch it.
“It’s hard enough that Mother isn’t here without you being a pest,” Athalia muttered, making Hilana stop and stare. “And that’s your fault, too.”
“It isn’t my fault that Mama isn’t here,” she protested. “Asher said Wildness doesn’t work that way, Athalia. That it--”
“What does Asher know? Asher’s a boy who looks after animals,” Athalia looked Hilana up and down, a frown on her face. The implication of her look was clear. One of the youngest’s hands curled up in a tight fist, her face darkening as she clenched her teeth. The deal she had made with Vorenus was surely already done for, and that meant that she had no reason to hold back. The explosion that Namah had wanted to avoid went off, and they were at ground zero.
“Asher knows more than you!” Hilana shouted back at her. “You wouldn’t last ever outside Tertium! You’d drop dead in a day! You couldn’t find food, you couldn’t survive, you couldn’t do anything!” Athalia’s eyes narrowed, starting to cross the room towards the youngest, as if to chase her out. “All you do is go to spas and shop and party! Where is that in the sands, Athalia? Where is that where our people are?! Asher knows more than you, Vorenus knows more than you, Markus knows more than you! Can you even saddle a camel or ride one?!”
“Stop it,” Marah scolded them. “Athalia, you know better. Hilana, so do you. Stop it with your temper and just go, please. What did we say? You need to behave yourself today.”
“It’s not my fault that Mama passed away!” Hilana almost screamed, as the kitten squirmed in her arms, wide awake now at the sheer level of volume that came out of the girl. “Do you think Mama would be so proud of you? If she was Wild, what do you think she would say if she was here?!” her eyes were blazing. “Look at yourself first!” Athalia raised a hand, and smacked her on her bare forearm, her skin already hot with her Element.
Hilana shrieked, pulling away sharply, before driving her shoulder into her sister’s abdomen making her stumble, the sound of tearing fabric loud in the sudden silence of the room. She turned, pushing past Sarala, who had come to investigate the noise and break it up. “What is going on?” Sarala looked from one to the other, as Athalia rubbed her midsection, wincing. The youngest was a sturdy creature, for all that they were trying to dress her up and make a delicate doll out of her.
“Hilana is being horrid again, what else is new?” Athalia muttered, looking at the hand she had used to make contact and willing her temperature to cool down now that it was no longer needed.
“Bringing her home really may have been a mistake, Aunt,” Marah shook her head, and Namah nodded in agreement with the second eldest sister. “She goes off with her temper like nothing. It would be very embarrassing for our family...”
All of that was behind her as the girl darted like one of the frilled lizards on the sands, hitching her longer skirts and her sari with one hand, the kitten clutched to her with the other, pushing past the staring servi and bolting outside. She ran barefoot through the estate, through the gardens and to the camel stables, not even remotely interested in the horses at the moment. She padded through the stalls, looking for the dark-furred Sakima. Vorenus would have brought her here, surely. Otherwise Hilana was going to have to go out on foot, and that would be a longer trip to get back to the pack, and then there was more of a chance that she would be found first and... her mind was roiling. “Sakimaaaa,” she crooned, and near the end of the aisle, the camel stuck her head over the half-door. Hilana went right to her, letting go of her skirts at last and reaching up with her free hand to touch the cow’s face and pressed her head against her long nose. Sakima breathed at her, and Hilana blew back gently into her nostrils before opening the stall door and going inside of it, looking up at the large quadruped, and the tawny kitten before holding the cat up to the camel. No one had seen fit to name the kitten that was apparently supposed to be hers, if she stayed, but considering no one else was interested in her... well, Hilana figured no one was going to mind if the cat left with her. Marah had implied as much.
But now that she was in the stables, Hilana could calm down and think. She could saddle Sakima and take her out and wait for Vorenus. That seemed to be the best course of action. Sure, they were supposed to stay the night here, but Hilana didn’t want to. Even if he had encouraged her to be brave and face the fires that comprised her family... Hilana looked at the red handprint on her arm, frowning. Well, she’d faced that one. And they wouldn’t let her so much as touch the veil...
She put the kitten up in the hay rack for the time being, and busied herself with getting her camel saddled. For a ten-year-old, this was difficult, but for a determined ten year old... Well, Hilana made due. She’d been taught well, and she had plenty to climb on in here to get to the height she needed. But as she jumped down from the door of the stall to the ground, she considered something. Mama had always rode camels. And she surely had worn her veil when she did at one point... and the girl was inspired. She had to go back into the house anyway to get her things, but... she could also grab the veil. Just to try it. Unless Namah already had it on, but... there was no harm in looking, was there?
She left the kitten in the stable, sleeping in the hayrack of Sakima’s stall where the camel stood waiting before helping herself to some of the browse. Hilana slipped in, darting for her own room in case she was stopped, but considering there was enough going on... she peeked out the door, holding her breath, listening, before she made her way towards her eldest sister’s bedroom, listening. Nothing. She opened it, peeking in, relieved to find it empty. There were voices in Marah’s room, which indicated where her three sisters might have been. She raced to the dressing table, to the lacquered box, and opened it carefully. Mama’s veil was there and waiting, and Hilana touched it almost reverently before lifting it from the box and closing it, hiding the garment in her sari before slipping out of the bedroom and heading back out once more to go back to the stables.
Sakima and the kitten were waiting where she had left them, and Hilana scooped the kitten up before opening the stall door, and the camel strode out with her. A few well-placed movements and the girl had gotten up on the saddle, and steered Sakima out of the stable and headed off for the gardens. Now she could set the kitten on her lap, and put her mother’s veil on. It was a strange sensation, wearing that, but the little Vastiana didn’t mind at all once her eyes got used to the fabric there. “No, leave that alone,” she carefully disentangled the kitten’s claws from the delicate lace, steering Sakima along with her feet and headed out to enjoy her ride. The stress and irritation of her family, the pain from the burn on her arm... all faded into the background as Hilana pretended to be the mother she could barely remember, making her way out towards the trails, her head held high.
“HILANA!” Namah’s scream was audible through the house, but the girl was already well out of earshot.
~~
Hilana settled against the small pad on the back bar of her saddle, Sakima stepping alongside Et’imi. “Are you still going to teach me how to shoot from Et’imi?” the girl asked him, and Vorenus just looked at her. It was just past breakfast, and there had been enough drama and screaming that the little girl was more than eager to get out of Tertium and go back out to the sands.
“You’ve caused enough trouble for one day,” he told her. “We’re going home.” He was not smiling, and Hilana knew enough to leave it alone. She’d get her lesson one day. It wasn’t going to be today, and it probably was going to be the next season, or the season after that...
She smiled, and reached into her saddlebag, lifting out the fluffy kitten with the bright blue eyes who was curled up on the bundle of clothing. Hilana cradled her new pet. “We’re going home, Risdra.” She looked out over the sands as the tawny little huntress yawned and curled up against her shirt, not at all interested in being awake. “We’re going home.”
[Closed]
[Part II]
“Yes, Hilana?” Namah asked her. “What is it?” It was still early; so why on earth their baby sister was here...
“Can I see Mama’s veil, please?” she asked quietly. The girls looked at each other, and Athalia sighed. Marah was quiet, and Namah looked hesitant.
“You can’t touch it,” she told her, but finally motioned her over. The girl stepped over to the table where the box was, and peered at it as Namah lifted it out for the girl to get a better look, carefully draping it over her own hair and shoulders, demurely posing with it with the shimmering edges for her sister’s benefit, showing the girl what was expected of her to emulate. The veil itself was woven from thin, grey threads, while outlined in a brighter blue with woven coppery strands. Little shimmering stones studded the lace, each of them reflecting the many lights of her eldest sister’s bedroom. “Ah, no,” she moved the veil out of the way when one of Hilana’s hands came up to touch the edge. “I said please don’t touch it, Hilana.”
The wide-eyed look of delight that had brightened the child’s features vanished as if someone had turned off the light. “Why not? You get to. Marah gets to. Athalia gets to. I’m Mama’s daughter, too,” the girl pointed out, frowning. “I’m not going to break it, Namah.”
“Because you’ve been everywhere on a camel and you still smell like one,” Athalia told her dryly. “Namah does not want to smell like a camel for Caius. I think you should leave now, Hilana. You can see it more at the party.”
“I don’t smell like a camel,” the girl retorted. “I had a bath! And Sakima is clean! She smells like flowers!”
“Your bath didn’t work. Go have another one,” Athalia gave her a little push on the shoulder, and Hilana planted herself, eyes blazing. “I said, leave, Hilana. Why do you have to make such a mess of things?”
“Hilana, I think it’s best that you go out and wait for us with everyone else.” Namah told her, holding a hand up to Athalia to quiet her down before she said something to ignite the unpredictably wild child. Hilana turned to go, heading back for the door. It was Namah’s room, after all, and Hilana had gotten to see it, even if she hadn’t gotten to touch it.
“It’s hard enough that Mother isn’t here without you being a pest,” Athalia muttered, making Hilana stop and stare. “And that’s your fault, too.”
“It isn’t my fault that Mama isn’t here,” she protested. “Asher said Wildness doesn’t work that way, Athalia. That it--”
“What does Asher know? Asher’s a boy who looks after animals,” Athalia looked Hilana up and down, a frown on her face. The implication of her look was clear. One of the youngest’s hands curled up in a tight fist, her face darkening as she clenched her teeth. The deal she had made with Vorenus was surely already done for, and that meant that she had no reason to hold back. The explosion that Namah had wanted to avoid went off, and they were at ground zero.
“Asher knows more than you!” Hilana shouted back at her. “You wouldn’t last ever outside Tertium! You’d drop dead in a day! You couldn’t find food, you couldn’t survive, you couldn’t do anything!” Athalia’s eyes narrowed, starting to cross the room towards the youngest, as if to chase her out. “All you do is go to spas and shop and party! Where is that in the sands, Athalia? Where is that where our people are?! Asher knows more than you, Vorenus knows more than you, Markus knows more than you! Can you even saddle a camel or ride one?!”
“Stop it,” Marah scolded them. “Athalia, you know better. Hilana, so do you. Stop it with your temper and just go, please. What did we say? You need to behave yourself today.”
“It’s not my fault that Mama passed away!” Hilana almost screamed, as the kitten squirmed in her arms, wide awake now at the sheer level of volume that came out of the girl. “Do you think Mama would be so proud of you? If she was Wild, what do you think she would say if she was here?!” her eyes were blazing. “Look at yourself first!” Athalia raised a hand, and smacked her on her bare forearm, her skin already hot with her Element.
Hilana shrieked, pulling away sharply, before driving her shoulder into her sister’s abdomen making her stumble, the sound of tearing fabric loud in the sudden silence of the room. She turned, pushing past Sarala, who had come to investigate the noise and break it up. “What is going on?” Sarala looked from one to the other, as Athalia rubbed her midsection, wincing. The youngest was a sturdy creature, for all that they were trying to dress her up and make a delicate doll out of her.
“Hilana is being horrid again, what else is new?” Athalia muttered, looking at the hand she had used to make contact and willing her temperature to cool down now that it was no longer needed.
“Bringing her home really may have been a mistake, Aunt,” Marah shook her head, and Namah nodded in agreement with the second eldest sister. “She goes off with her temper like nothing. It would be very embarrassing for our family...”
All of that was behind her as the girl darted like one of the frilled lizards on the sands, hitching her longer skirts and her sari with one hand, the kitten clutched to her with the other, pushing past the staring servi and bolting outside. She ran barefoot through the estate, through the gardens and to the camel stables, not even remotely interested in the horses at the moment. She padded through the stalls, looking for the dark-furred Sakima. Vorenus would have brought her here, surely. Otherwise Hilana was going to have to go out on foot, and that would be a longer trip to get back to the pack, and then there was more of a chance that she would be found first and... her mind was roiling. “Sakimaaaa,” she crooned, and near the end of the aisle, the camel stuck her head over the half-door. Hilana went right to her, letting go of her skirts at last and reaching up with her free hand to touch the cow’s face and pressed her head against her long nose. Sakima breathed at her, and Hilana blew back gently into her nostrils before opening the stall door and going inside of it, looking up at the large quadruped, and the tawny kitten before holding the cat up to the camel. No one had seen fit to name the kitten that was apparently supposed to be hers, if she stayed, but considering no one else was interested in her... well, Hilana figured no one was going to mind if the cat left with her. Marah had implied as much.
But now that she was in the stables, Hilana could calm down and think. She could saddle Sakima and take her out and wait for Vorenus. That seemed to be the best course of action. Sure, they were supposed to stay the night here, but Hilana didn’t want to. Even if he had encouraged her to be brave and face the fires that comprised her family... Hilana looked at the red handprint on her arm, frowning. Well, she’d faced that one. And they wouldn’t let her so much as touch the veil...
She put the kitten up in the hay rack for the time being, and busied herself with getting her camel saddled. For a ten-year-old, this was difficult, but for a determined ten year old... Well, Hilana made due. She’d been taught well, and she had plenty to climb on in here to get to the height she needed. But as she jumped down from the door of the stall to the ground, she considered something. Mama had always rode camels. And she surely had worn her veil when she did at one point... and the girl was inspired. She had to go back into the house anyway to get her things, but... she could also grab the veil. Just to try it. Unless Namah already had it on, but... there was no harm in looking, was there?
She left the kitten in the stable, sleeping in the hayrack of Sakima’s stall where the camel stood waiting before helping herself to some of the browse. Hilana slipped in, darting for her own room in case she was stopped, but considering there was enough going on... she peeked out the door, holding her breath, listening, before she made her way towards her eldest sister’s bedroom, listening. Nothing. She opened it, peeking in, relieved to find it empty. There were voices in Marah’s room, which indicated where her three sisters might have been. She raced to the dressing table, to the lacquered box, and opened it carefully. Mama’s veil was there and waiting, and Hilana touched it almost reverently before lifting it from the box and closing it, hiding the garment in her sari before slipping out of the bedroom and heading back out once more to go back to the stables.
Sakima and the kitten were waiting where she had left them, and Hilana scooped the kitten up before opening the stall door, and the camel strode out with her. A few well-placed movements and the girl had gotten up on the saddle, and steered Sakima out of the stable and headed off for the gardens. Now she could set the kitten on her lap, and put her mother’s veil on. It was a strange sensation, wearing that, but the little Vastiana didn’t mind at all once her eyes got used to the fabric there. “No, leave that alone,” she carefully disentangled the kitten’s claws from the delicate lace, steering Sakima along with her feet and headed out to enjoy her ride. The stress and irritation of her family, the pain from the burn on her arm... all faded into the background as Hilana pretended to be the mother she could barely remember, making her way out towards the trails, her head held high.
“HILANA!” Namah’s scream was audible through the house, but the girl was already well out of earshot.
~~
Hilana settled against the small pad on the back bar of her saddle, Sakima stepping alongside Et’imi. “Are you still going to teach me how to shoot from Et’imi?” the girl asked him, and Vorenus just looked at her. It was just past breakfast, and there had been enough drama and screaming that the little girl was more than eager to get out of Tertium and go back out to the sands.
“You’ve caused enough trouble for one day,” he told her. “We’re going home.” He was not smiling, and Hilana knew enough to leave it alone. She’d get her lesson one day. It wasn’t going to be today, and it probably was going to be the next season, or the season after that...
She smiled, and reached into her saddlebag, lifting out the fluffy kitten with the bright blue eyes who was curled up on the bundle of clothing. Hilana cradled her new pet. “We’re going home, Risdra.” She looked out over the sands as the tawny little huntress yawned and curled up against her shirt, not at all interested in being awake. “We’re going home.”
